Reading, reading reading!

I just flew back to California to get ready for two full class days (9am until 6pm) reading and studying as much as we can about Cambodia.  We have been focusing a little about Thailand, but mainly about the genocide, and the humiliation and trauma.  It has been so eye opening and I am not even there yet!  We are going to see so many things that are so special to the countries and that were not lost during the killings.

I am flying to Bangkok January 11th, and will be trying to get a flight right as I arrive to go to a beach.  I want to see the country side, and the beaches and swim in another ocean!  So far I have been to the Pacific, Atlantic, Mediterranean, Gulf of Mexico and the Baltic Sea.  

Then on January 18, our group will be meeting at Bangkok airport to go to Siem Reap, Cambodia.  There we will be visiting Artisans De Angkor and then watching the sunset at Ba Kheng.  Once the sunsets, we will be seeing the night market, which is something special and interesting to see in Cambodia.

Jan, 19 (Monday):  Our group is visiting Angkor Temple for the whole day.  Check it out online!  Here is a site just to see how awesome these temples are!  It's really amazing that they were not destroyed by the Khmer Rouge.

Jan, 20:  We travel to the Angkor National Museum then take a long bus ride ti Battambang.

Jan 21:  In the early morning, we are visiting Tean Thor, which works closely with fighting HIV/AIDS in Cambodia. There website is, . Later in the day we are going to visit the House of Knowledge, which is a village education and youth project of the FEDA.  This is a Cambodian NGO working to empower Cambodian people living in rural areas through education and income generation projects.   is the site, take a look at it to get more information.

Thursday, Jan 22: Our group is visiting Kamping Poy Dam, and this is the dam that the Khmer Rouge built during the regime.  After that, we take about a 6 hour bus ride to Phnom Penh and then Jan, 23, we are being briefed about Cambodia (the visit, culture and history) by the CPCS.

Jan 24:  This is going to be a really difficult day.  We are visiting Toul Sleng Museum in the morning and this is the museum about the genocide that took place within Cambodia.  After lunch (which I am sure we will not want) we are going to visit Cheung Ek Memorial (the popuar name is known as the "killing fields".)  We will be given a presentation on Reconciliation in Cambodia at CPCS.

Jan 25: The next day, after seeing some of the real horror that the Cambodians went through, we are going to visit the Royal Palace and then go to a market place to see the local culture and see how they communicate to each other and see local products.  For the rest of the day it will be free time and taking a short break!

Jan 26:  This is going to be a full, exciting day!  We are visiting the Extraordinary Chambers of the Court in Cambodia (ECCC) and understanding how international humanitarian law is being used to help charge the people involved in this conflict.  Later on, Khmer Ahimsa,  will be a presentation on community level non-violence and reconciliation in Cambodia. 

Tuesday, Jan 27:  Our group is visiting the World Vision Cambodia (which is the Trafficking Project in Cambodia) and we will briefed on human trafficking in Cambodia.  After lunch, we will be visiting Youth for Peace in Cambodia.

Jan 28:  This is the end of our group class trip, and we will be debriefed of the trip at CPCS and then depart either back to Bangkok, or to go home.

Jan 28th-Feb 1:  I will be traveling to Ho Chi Min city in Vietnam and studying the culture there are well. 

 I will try to post while I am in Asia but it might be difficult.  I will be keeping a written journal and when I come back I will post what I have written abroad, and also post my research paper, the documentary that we will be making.  Any thing else that our group does, I will also post the link!

  

The Far East

My first semester of grad school is finally over!  I can't wait for winter practicum to begin because I will be going to Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam with a stop or two in China.  I have never been to this part of the world so I am very excited!  I will be participating in the winter practicum course "Challenges to Peace-building: Cambodia".  We will be conducting research so we can examine, understand and analyze the challenges to peace-building in Cambodia.  Cambodia is a post-genocide society and this has had a huge impact on the peace-building process in Cambodia.  We will be collecting first hand accounts from the people of Cambodia and try to understand what they went through, what life has been like after the genocide and what they see for Cambodia in the future.

I am going to Bangkok Thailand a few days early to see the city before we meet up and go to Cambodia.  After Cambodia, I will travel with a few classmates to Vietnam to Ho Chi Min city to see the different culture in Vietnam.  Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia are very different societies with vast histories, however, they have all dealt with the conflicts within Southeast Asia, but were affected differently by them.

 I have my visas and I am getting ready to get my vaccinations and on January 11, 2009 I will be heading to Thailand to start my Far East adventure.   I will be keeping a journal of my thoughts and so on and after my trip, I will post some of my entries here with pictures to share my first hand experience in the field.  I doubt I will be able to get to an internet cafe since we'll be in the more rural parts of Cambodia.  I'll post my itinerary later!